*Demands full disclosure of loan agreements
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has expressed outrage over the approval of $21 billion in foreign loans by the National Assembly for President Bola Tinubu, insisting that the present government has shattered the record of his predecessor and consequently, the loan will drive Nigeria’s public debt beyond ₦200 trillion.
The coalition party described the president’s propensity to borrow as “fiscal vandalism” adding that the borrowing with no corresponding development or economic revival to justify it, is already crushing the very backbone of the economy. The party said that small businesses can no longer access credit. Just as investors are losing confidence and pulling out because over 60 percent of national income is now used to service debt and the government is turning to ordinary Nigerian families and taxing them beyond their limits.
The party demanded a full disclosure of all loan agreements signed over the past ten years by the APC and the Tinubu government. It said that Nigerians have a right to know the terms, interest rates, payment timelines, and final recipients of the loans.
In a statement signed by its Acting National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi on Sunday, the ADC accused President Tinubu of mortgaging the country’s future in mountains of debts in the name of economic reform. The party also slammed the National Assembly for acting as a rubber stamp, saying lawmakers had abdicated their duty to protect Nigerians from the consequences of unsustainable debt.
According to ADC, “What Nigerians are witnessing, following the approval of a fresh $21 billion in foreign loans, is nothing short of a calculated decision to mortgage the country’s future just to cover up the failures of today.
“Under President Buhari, Nigeria borrowed an average of N4.7 trillion per year, and even that caused widespread concern. But under President Tinubu, borrowing has jumped to N49.8 trillion per year. In just two years, this administration has borrowed more than ten times what Buhari borrowed in the same timeframe. At this rate, Nigeria’s total public debt will crash through N200 trillion before the end of the year. We are speeding toward a financial cliff, and those in charge seem to have no brakes, thinking they can borrow their way out of economic problems that require more thoughtful actions and greater fiscal discipline.
“Supporters of this government like to argue that Tinubu’s borrowing is smaller in dollar terms, just $1.7 billion annually, compared to Buhari’s $4.15 billion. But that argument collapses the moment we look at the exchange rate. With the naira now in free fall, again thanks to this administration’s poor police choices, these same loans are costing the country far more. When converted to naira, Tinubu’s foreign borrowing amounts to N25.5 trillion every year, more than Buhari’s annual average of N2.2 trillion. What we are witnessing is the deepening of a debt trap created by economic mismanagement and a collapsed currency”.
ADC argued that “since the APC took over in 2015, our total public debt has grown from N12.6 trillion to over N149 trillion in 2025. Over $35 billion has been borrowed from external lenders alone in the last decade of the APC. This is nearly twelve times more in just ten years Our debt to the World Bank has tripled. What we owe in Eurobonds has grown eleven times over. And now, this government wants to borrow even more, pushing our foreign debt ceiling to $67 billion.
“This reckless borrowing, repeated year after year, with no plan to repay it, and no effort to use it productively, will leave our children repaying debts that they did not incur or benefit from. The debts have continued to mount, but infrastructures have remained poor, universities are still grossly underfunded, hospitals are still ill-equipped and electricity supply are as poor as ever. So, what exactly are these loans used for? This is the question that Nigerians expect the National Assembly to ask. Instead, it has continued to approve these loans without asking the hard questions, without demanding a plan, and without standing up for the Nigerian people”.
The party quoted the Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria, which stated that “the cost of Tinubu’s borrowing is already crushing the very backbone of our economy. Small businesses can no longer access credit. Investors are losing confidence and pulling out. And because over 60 percent of our national income is now used to service debt, the government is turning to ordinary Nigerian families and taxing them beyond their limits”.
ADC explained that while other countries are fighting to reduce their debts, the APC is taking out more loans. It stated that the recent devaluation of the naira should have reduced the need for external borrowing, but instead, the government has treated it as an excuse to borrow even more.
It called on President Tinubu to put an end to the fiscal recklessness, and focus instead on meaningful reform, by investing wisely, and spending responsibly insisting that the era of borrowing to cover policy failures must come to an end. borrowings 10 times worse than all predecessors – ADC
*Demands full disclosure of loan agreements
By Euclid Myke, Abuja
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has expressed outrage over the approval of $21 billion in foreign loans by the National Assembly for President Bola Tinubu, insisting that the present government has shattered the record of his predecessor and consequently, the loan will drive Nigeria’s public debt beyond ₦200 trillion.
The coalition party described the president’s propensity to borrow as “fiscal vandalism” adding that the borrowing with no corresponding development or economic revival to justify it, is already crushing the very backbone of the economy. The party said that small businesses can no longer access credit. Just as investors are losing confidence and pulling out because over 60 percent of national income is now used to service debt and the government is turning to ordinary Nigerian families and taxing them beyond their limits.
The party demanded a full disclosure of all loan agreements signed over the past ten years by the APC and the Tinubu government. It said that Nigerians have a right to know the terms, interest rates, payment timelines, and final recipients of the loans.
In a statement signed by its Acting National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi on Sunday, the ADC accused President Tinubu of mortgaging the country’s future in mountains of debts in the name of economic reform. The party also slammed the National Assembly for acting as a rubber stamp, saying lawmakers had abdicated their duty to protect Nigerians from the consequences of unsustainable debt.
According to ADC, “What Nigerians are witnessing, following the approval of a fresh $21 billion in foreign loans, is nothing short of a calculated decision to mortgage the country’s future just to cover up the failures of today.
“Under President Buhari, Nigeria borrowed an average of N4.7 trillion per year, and even that caused widespread concern. But under President Tinubu, borrowing has jumped to N49.8 trillion per year. In just two years, this administration has borrowed more than ten times what Buhari borrowed in the same timeframe. At this rate, Nigeria’s total public debt will crash through N200 trillion before the end of the year. We are speeding toward a financial cliff, and those in charge seem to have no brakes, thinking they can borrow their way out of economic problems that require more thoughtful actions and greater fiscal discipline.
“Supporters of this government like to argue that Tinubu’s borrowing is smaller in dollar terms, just $1.7 billion annually, compared to Buhari’s $4.15 billion. But that argument collapses the moment we look at the exchange rate. With the naira now in free fall, again thanks to this administration’s poor police choices, these same loans are costing the country far more. When converted to naira, Tinubu’s foreign borrowing amounts to N25.5 trillion every year, more than Buhari’s annual average of N2.2 trillion. What we are witnessing is the deepening of a debt trap created by economic mismanagement and a collapsed currency”.
ADC argued that “since the APC took over in 2015, our total public debt has grown from N12.6 trillion to over N149 trillion in 2025. Over $35 billion has been borrowed from external lenders alone in the last decade of the APC. This is nearly twelve times more in just ten years Our debt to the World Bank has tripled. What we owe in Eurobonds has grown eleven times over. And now, this government wants to borrow even more, pushing our foreign debt ceiling to $67 billion.
“This reckless borrowing, repeated year after year, with no plan to repay it, and no effort to use it productively, will leave our children repaying debts that they did not incur or benefit from. The debts have continued to mount, but infrastructures have remained poor, universities are still grossly underfunded, hospitals are still ill-equipped and electricity supply are as poor as ever. So, what exactly are these loans used for? This is the question that Nigerians expect the National Assembly to ask. Instead, it has continued to approve these loans without asking the hard questions, without demanding a plan, and without standing up for the Nigerian people”.
The party quoted the Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria, which stated that “the cost of Tinubu’s borrowing is already crushing the very backbone of our economy. Small businesses can no longer access credit. Investors are losing confidence and pulling out. And because over 60 percent of our national income is now used to service debt, the government is turning to ordinary Nigerian families and taxing them beyond their limits”.
ADC explained that while other countries are fighting to reduce their debts, the APC is taking out more loans. It stated that the recent devaluation of the naira should have reduced the need for external borrowing, but instead, the government has treated it as an excuse to borrow even more.
It called on President Tinubu to put an end to the fiscal recklessness, and focus instead on meaningful reform, by investing wisely, and spending responsibly insisting that the era of borrowing to cover policy failures must come to an end.
